Tufting mechanism for sewing machines



Oct. 28, 1941. s. GOODMAN ET AL 2,260,896

TUFTING MECHANISM FOR SEWING MACHINES Filed Feb. 4, 1959 s Sheets-Sheet 1 Fig.1-

3 92 5 52 /06 4 VW 44 m 4 F194 .52 Ti i'- 'l 96 2 3m amtors SAMUEL GOODMAN 50 62 54 (Ittotneg Oct. 28, 1941. s; GOODMAN ETAL. 2,260,896

TUFTING MECHANISM FOR SEWING MACHINES Filed Feb. 4, 1939 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 "Fig.2-

Zinnentors 5AM UEL GOODMAN FLO YD 0L5 0N (Ittorneg Oct. 28, 1941. s. GOODMAN ETAL 2,260,896

TUFTING MECHANISM FOR SEWING MACHINES 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 A 2 2/ w v 4 00 8 w 8 0 8 M I 9 0 ,0 l2 6 2 6 A 7 6 m H v 5 w .1 M JW/LM L Fir \\x 9 3/\ 2 N 55 M a 2 A E- 2 I Q, 4 WP w w W, 4 H 3 I I Smaentors SAMUEL GoouMA/v FLOYD iLSON a g E a Gttorn eg Patented Oct. 28, 1941 TUFTING MECHANISM FOR SEWING. IVIACHINES Samuel Goodman and Floyd Olson, liaston, Pa., assignors to Shapiro & Son Curtain Corporation, New York, N. Yr, a corporation of New York Application February 4, 1939; Serial bio-254,532 8 Claims. (Cl. 112'--7'9) This invention relates to a tufting attachment for sewing machines utilized for the production of tufts formed by loops of thread passed through fabric or other sheet material by the needle of the sewing machine.

One object of the present invention is to. provide a tufting attachment which can be readily applied to sewing machines of standard construction and which is provided with a loop cutter which is so constructed and arranged that it can be easily and quickly removed and replaced at a moments notice without disturbing the other parts of the tufting attachment. The ease with which the loop cutter can be removed and replaced as stated is of great importance in actual practice for several reasons, principally because the period of interruption of the operation of the sewing machine which is required for the removal and replacement of the cutter is reduced to a minimum. This feature of the invention will be readily appreciated by manufacturers of tufted articles. 7

Another object of the invention is the provision of a tufting attachment including improved means for adjustably mounting the looper whereby loops of various lengths may be obtained. I

Another object of the invention is to provide a tufting attachment having a stationary looper and a movable cutter together with an improved means of simple construction for actuating the cutter.

A yet further object of the invention is generally to provide an improved tufting mechanism for sewing machines, said tufting mechanism being especially characterized by its simple construction and reliable operation.

The invention and the above and other objects which might hereinafter appear will be more fully understood from the following description considered with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side view of a sewing-machine head provided with the tufting mechanism of the present invention, parts being broken away and parts being shown in section;

Fig. 2 is an end and sectional view on the line22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a rear side view in elevation of the tufting attachment shown secured to the bottom of the bed plate of the sewing machine head Figs. 4 and 5 are detail sectional views on the line 4-4 and 5-5, respectively, of Fig. 3;

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the tufting attachment;

Figs. '7 to 9 are views which together with Fig.

Fig. 16 is an enlarged sectional view of the looper on the'line l6-I6 of Fig. 15.;

, Fig. 17 is a detail sectional View on the line |'1|1 of Fig. 1.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, there i'sshown in Fig. 1 a sewing machine head Ill of standard construction provided with a tufting attachment I2 embodying the present invention. The loop-forming thread T is fed to the eye of the needle I4 in the usual way. Said needle is carried by a needle bar l6, which reciprocates through the fabric or other sheet material to be tufted. Needle I4 reciprocates in a pathparallel to theline of feed of the fabric. For this purpose needle bar I6 is actuated by the slotted arm [8 (Fig. 2) which is part of a standard and wellknown mechanism of sewing machines of the type illustrated. The usual presser foot 20 which reciprocates vertically of the machine head and which also reciprocates laterally of the bed plate I 22 of the sewing machine head, and the usual presser plate 24 which reciprocates only vertically of the sewing machine head and provided as here shown are actuated together with the needle bar IS in the usual way by the rotary shaft 28. Further description of this part of the sewing machine is unnecessary as it is in itself well known. The throat plate provided with the usual elongated narrow slot or opening for the passage of the needle is indicated at 28, said slot being indicated at 29.

Considering now more specifically the tufting attachment l2, it is seen by reference to the drawings that said tufting attachment, which it will be understood is made of suitable metal, comprises an L-shaped bracket 30 which is secured to and depends from a bar 32 fixed to the under-surface of the bed plate 22 of the machine head by suitable means, here shown as by screws 34 and 36, the head of the last mentioned screw being counter-sunk in said bar. Bracket 30 is adjustable longitudinally of supporting bar 32 and for that purpose is provided in its horizontally disposed portion 38 with a slot 40 through which a fastening screw 42 projects for threaded engagement with bar 32. It will be observed by reference to Fig. 4 that portion 38 of bracket 30 has a U-shaped groove 44 into which bar 32 extends for guiding said bracket longitudinally of said bar and for preventing the turning of said bracket in relation to said bar. Bracket 30 has a vertically disposed portion 46 provided with a longitudinal U-shaped groove 48 within which an auxiliary bracket member 50 is adjustably secured and for which purpose said auxiliary bracket member is provided with a slot through which a screw 53 extends for threaded engagement with vertical portion 46 of bracket 30. The lower end of auxiliary bracket 50 is provided with spaced projecting portions 52 which define the groove 54 in which a looper-carrying bar 56 is adjustably secured by a screw 58 which passes through a slot 60 in said bar and is threaded into auxiliary bracket 50. The looper 62 (Figs. 14 and 15) is secured at one end of bar 56 by screws 64, said end of bar 56 having a lateral projection 66 to reinforce the securement between the looper and said bar. It will be observed that the head 68 of the looper is positioned below the opening 29 in the throat plate 28 and extends longitudinally thereof terminating in a hooked end spaced from the looper shank 12 in a direction opposite to the feed of the fabric in the machine. The head 68 of the looper has a relatively thin lower edge 14 extending longitudinally of said head between the shank I2 and the hooked tip I0, said edge being defined by the front side I6 of said head and by the under-cut and tapered side I8 at the opposite side of said head. Said tip 10 is rounded off from the front side 16 of the head to the rear side thereof as clearly shown in Figs. 13 to 15.

A loop cutter 80 is provided for cutting the loops formed on the looper during the operation of the machine. Said cutter oscillates in engagement with the surface 16 of the looper and also simultaneously reciprocates longitudinally of the looper head in sliding engagement therewith. Said cutter has at one end thereof an open-ended slot 82 and has adjacent its other end an aperture 84. The cutting edge 86 is formed on projecting portion 88 of the cutter at the upper edge thereof between the ends of the cutter. Th slotted end of the cutter is supported at the upper end of a strap 90 which is adjustably secured to bar 56 by a screw 92 which passes through slot 94 in said strap and is threaded into said bar. The upper end of strap 90 is provided with a pin 96 which engages cutter 80 in its open-ended slot 82. The other end of the cutter is engaged by an eccentric pin 98 removably fixed to collar I00. The shank of said pin passes through opening 84 in cutter 80, said opening being only slightly larger than said pin to permit relative turning movement therebetween, but to prevent movement of said cutter transversely of the axis of said pin. A coiled compression spring I02 is positioned about the pin 98 and is interposed between the adjacent end of said cutter and the head I04 of said pin, thereby resiliently holding the cutting edge portion of the cutter against the adjacent side of the looper. For this purpose there is also provided a flat spring I06 which is secured at one end thereof to bar 56 by screw 58 and bears at its free end portion I08 on the cutter adjacent the through openings in said arm cutting edge portion 88 thereof. Eccentric pin 98 is removably secured to collar I00 by having the end of its shank remote from the head I04 threaded into said collar. By reason of this construction and arrangement of the cutter and of its connection with eccentric 98, said cutter may be easily and quickly removed and replaced by another similar cutter, the removal of said cutter being accomplished by disconnecting pin 98 from collar I00 after which said cutter can be disconnected from pin 96 by longitudinal movement of the cutter transversely of the axis of said pin. The cutter thus removed may be sharpened if necessary, or another similar cutter may then be assembled in position by mounting the slotted end 82 of the cutter on pin 96 and by inserting the shank of pin 98 through the opening 84 in the cutter, the threaded end of said pin being then threaded into collar I00. It will be understood that pin 98 oscillates in an arcuate path and thereby causes cutter to oscillate about pin 96as a pivot and simultaneously to reciprocate longitudinally of the head 68 of the looper, as stated above.

The means for actuating pin 98 for operating the cutter comprises the shaft IOI to which collar I00 is fixed, and it will be understood that the axis of pin 98 is eccentric in relation to the axis of shaft IOI. Rock shaft IOI is mounted for turning movement in bearings II 0 and II 2. The mechanism for oscillating shaft IOI comprises a collar H4 fixed to the end of the shaft adjacent bearing H2 and provided with an arm A bell crank lever I I8 is mounted for rocking movement on a pin I20. Said bell crank lever has a slotted arm I22 in which a block I24 is slidable. Said block and thereby said arm is connected to arm II6 by a pin I26 which passes H6 and in said block I24, whereby said arm and block can pivot about said pin. The other arm I28 of the bell crank lever is pivotally connected by a pivot pin I30 to the lower end of a connecting od I32, the upper end of which is suitably connected to shaft 26 for oscillating bell crank lever I28.

The manner in which the tuft-forming loops are formed will be apparent from Figs. 2 and 7 to 10. In the position of the parts illustrated in Fig. 2, in the operation of the machine, presser foot 20 is about to be raised and moved together with the needle I4 laterally of throat plate 22 in a direction toward the hooked end I0 of looper 62, that is to the position illustrated in Fig. 7. While presser foot 20 is raised and is thus moved presser plate 24 remains in its lower position in engagement with the fabric. As the machine continues to operate the needle I 4 and the presser foot 20 move downwardly and the presser plate 24 moves upwardly, as illustrated in Fig. 8. In this position the needle penetrates the fabric and positions a threaded loop adjacent the hooked end I0 of the looper. In the further continued operation of the machine the needle and presser foot move in the direction of the feed of the fabric and longitudinally of the looper head and the loop previously positioned as just stated at the hooked end of the looper is moved onto and is engaged by the looper as shown vinFig. '9, Then the parts return to the position illustrated in Fig. 2, the needle moving upwardly and out of the fabric and the presser foot 20 similarly moving upwardly at about the time the needle ment," at which time presser plate 24 moves downwardly and holds the fabric .in position. This cycle of operationis repeated in succession as the machine operates, whereby to form a series of loops' in the manner just described, said loops being 'carried successively longitudinally of the looper head'in the direction ofthe feed of the fabric. I Itwill be observed from an inspection of Figs. 2 and 7 to 10 that cutter 80 cuts all of the loops thus formed except the loop last formed on the looper. The cutting edge portion 88 of the cutter completes its stroke during the movement of the parts-from the position illus-. trated in Fig. 2 to the position illustrated in Fig. 7, said cutting edge portion moving upwardly toward the throat plate during that. movement of the presser foot and needle. After the needle has started its downwardv movement and the point of the needle has about'reached the hooked end of the looper,'the cutter pivots downwardly about pivot pin 96 to make room for further downward movement of the needle and to permit the looped thread to be placed on the looper when the needle moves longitudinally of the looper in the direction of the feed of the\ fabric. Then, at about the time when the needle has again moved upwardly through the fabric, the cutter is pivoted upwar'dly'about pin 96 and performs its cutting action, severing all previously unsevered loops on the looper except the loop last formed thereon. During the pivotal movement of the cutter upwardly, said cutter also moves longitudinally of the looper head. It will be observed particularly by reference to Fig. 10 that needle [4 has a scarfed portion Ma whereby to permit the needle to slip behind the hooked end of the looper in engagement therewith, that is in engagement with the hooked end 10 adjacent the side 18 of the looper head, without excessive flexing of the needle. The rounded surface portion of the front of the hooked end facilitates the movement of the needle, in engagement with said hooked end for laying the looped thread on the looper.

Thus it is seen that the tufting attachment herein shown and described is well adapted to accomplish the several objects of the invention. It will be understood, however, that while the preferred form of the invention has been disclosed herein, the invention may be embodied in other forms. It will be understood also that in the illustrated embodiment, certain changes in the details of construction and arrangement of parts may be made. Therefore, we do not wish to be limited precisely to the embodiment herein shown or described, except as may be required by the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a tufting mechanism for a sewing machine, a stationary looper having a head extending longitudinally of the line of feed of the fabric, said machine having a needle which reciprocates and moves in relation to said looper head for laying loops of thread thereon, and a loop cutter mounted for pivotal and sliding movement in relation to said looper for cutting the loops on said looper head, except the loop last positioned thereon, and means for oscillating and sliding said cutter in engagement with the side of said looper head for severing the loops on the looper head while the latter is stationary.

2. In a tufting mechanism for a sewing machine, a stationary looper having a head extending longitudinally of the line of feed of the fabrocates and moves in relation to said looper head for laying loops of thread thereon, and a loop cutter mounted for pivotal and sliding movement in relation to said looper for cutting the loops on said looper head, said cutter having a slot at one end thereof and an opening at its other end and having a cutting edge between said ends, a stationary pin engaging said cutter in said slot, said cutter being movable about said pin and also transversely of the axis of said pin, an oscillatory pin engaging said cutter in said opening, and means for actuating said oscillatory pin to operate said cutter in timed relation tothe movement of said needle.

I 3. In a tuftingv mechanism for a sewing machine, a stationary looper having a head extendcutter mounted for pivotal'and sliding movement in relationto said looper for cutting the loops on said looper head, said cutter having an openended slot at. one end thereof and a through opening at its other end and having a cutting edge between said ends, astationary pin engaging said cutter in said slot, said cutter being movable about said pin and also transversely of the axis of said pin, an oscillatory pin engaging said cutter in said through opening, and means for actuating said oscillatory pin to operate said cutter in timed relation to the movement of said needle, said last mentioned pin being removable from said actuating means through said through opening in the cutter whereby said cutter can be detached by movement thereof transversely of said stationary pin.

4. In a tufting mechanism for sewing machines, a bracket secured at the bottom of the bed plate of the head of the machine in juxtaposition to the throat plate of the machine head, said bracket having a vertical portion, an auxiliary bracket mounted on and adjustable longitudinally of said vertical portion, a looper carrier adjustably mounted on said auxiliary bracket, a

looper secured to said carrier and adjustable therewith in a line parallel to the line of feed of the fabric and also toward and away from said throat plate, a loop cutter mounted below said bed plate for movement toward and away from the latter in engagement with said looper for cutting the loops formed thereon, and means ric, said machine having a needle which recipfor actuating said cutter for severing the loops on the looper while the latter is stationary.

5. In a tufting mechanism for sewing machines, a bracket secured at the bottom of the bed plate of the head of the machine in juxtaposition to the throat plate of the machine head, said bracket having a vertical portion, an auxiliary bracket mounted on and adjustable longitudinally of said vertical portion, a looper carrier adjustably mounted on said auxiliary bracket, a looper secured to said carrier and adjustable therewith in a line parallel to the line of feed of the fabric and also toward and away from said throat plate, a strap adjustably secured at one end thereof to said looper carrier and provided at its other end with a pivot pin, a cutter mounted on said pin for pivotal movement in engagement with said looper for cutting the loops formed thereon and means for actuating said cutter to sever loops on the looper while the latter is stationary.

6. In a tufting mechanism for sewing machines, a bracket secured at the bottom of the bed plate of the head of the machine in juxtaposition to the throat plate of the machine head, said bracket having a vertical portion, an auxiliary bracket mounted on and adjustable longitudinally of said vertical portion, a looper carrier adjustably mounted on said auxiliary bracket, a looper secured to said carrier and adjustable therewith in a line parallel to the line of feed of the fabric and also toward and away from said throat plate, a strap adjustably secured at one end thereof to said looper carrier and provided at its other end with a pivot pin, and a cutter mounted on said pin for pivotal movement in engagement with said looper for cutting the loops formed thereon, said cutter having an open-ended slot in which said pin engages the cutter, and an eccentric pin engageable with said cutter for oscillating the same about said first mentioned pin.

'7. In a tufting attachment for sewing machines, a looper, said machine having a needle which reciprocates and forms loops on said looper, and a loop cutter mounted for pivotal and sliding movement in engagement with said looper for cutting the loops thereon, said cutter having an openended slot at one end thereof and a through opening at its other end and having a cutting edge between said ends, a stationary pin engaging az'ed said 'cutter'in said slot, said cutter being mov able about said pin and also transversely of the axis of said pin, an oscillatory pin engaging said cutter. in said through opening, means for actuating said oscillatory pin to operate said cutter in timed relation to the movement of said needle and a spring engaging said pin and said cutter for holding the latter in engagement with the looper.

8. In a tufting mechanism for a sewing machine, a stationary looper having a head extending longitudinally of the line of feed of the fabric; said machine having a needle which reciprocates and moves in relation to said looper head for laying loops of thread thereon, and a loop cutter mounted for movement in relation to said looper for cutting the loops on said looper head, except the loop last positioned thereon, and means for moving said cutter in a direction longitudinally of said looper head and also toward and away from the cutting edge of said looper, in slidable engagement with said looper head and operable to cut the loops on the looper head while the latter is stationary.

SAMUEL GOODMAN. FLOYD OLSON. 

